Tag: yasmina
My TEDx Talk: #MyJihad- The Struggle for Self-Expression
Re-Posting for my new readers. Originally posted by Yasmina Reality on May 13, 2013. My TED talk is published. Please Watch and Share. “#MyJihad at TEDx Talk! Powerful words by MyJihad board member Yasmina. Share with your friends, your neighbors, your kids. Education is the key. Darkness will not brighten darkness, and fire will not […]
My Journalist Debut with Al Jazeera America
(photo credit: Sadaf Syed for Al Jazeera America) Al Jazeera America Article: Illinois Mosque Faces An Increasingly Common Zoning Problem I’m excited to be working with a trusted, global news source that is a go-to for me personally: Al Jazeera America. This weekend they published my article on a zoning dispute between the American Islamic […]
Interfaith Dialogue Matters
Growing up raised by a Muslim father and Catholic mother, I lived interfaith dialogue every day of my life. So it’s natural for me to forge friendships and dialogue with people of all faiths; but, this is not the case with everyone. (Or so I found I out when I grew up and ventured into the […]
Look Whose Inspired Me This Spring
So is it just a Muslim cultural thing that all of the annual banquets and gatherings for our institutions take place in the spring? 🙂 I’ve been blessed to attend a number of different functions in the Chicagoland area recently- each one more inspiring than the last. I can’t allow these feel-good and aha moments […]
Snore Stop Billboard: Features American Soldier Embracing Muslim Woman. Now React.
VIDEO: Ahmed Rehab of CAIR-Chicago reacts to the billboard “controversy” Wow. People are talking about a recent ad campaign. Billboard ads for Snore Stop, (a “stop snoring” nasal spray,) depicting an American soldier and a Muslim (niqabi) woman (niqab = face covering) have been gracing cities across the country. Company spokespersons said the product is […]
bigotry, psychology and self-hate
Muslim activism and facing Islamophobia on a daily basis exposes me to the worst in people. It exposes me to hate-filled messages from people that appear to be angry and often times, irrational. I’ll be honest here. (I mean, would Yasmina Reality be anything but?) When I first joined the #MyJihad campaign and faced off […]
College Students Inspire Me!
Getting involved with the #MyJihad campaign has brought countless blessings- one of which was unseen: meeting college students from different schools. College students inspire me like crazy. I want to bottle their energy and optimism and admitedly, mother them at the same time. 😉 #MyJihad volunteer, Saleha and I, were honored to be invited […]
#MyJihad is steeped in my Balkan roots
My piece for the Balkan Chronicle I’m really psyched about being published in the Balkan Chronicle. My Dad would have loved this. I love it. Thank you, BC! 🙂 Re-printed below: Born and raised in Chicago, I took for granted my family history. My father was a Pomak from the tiny mountain village of Arda- […]
FEMEN activists bare breasts because they don’t like my hijab
Now that I’ve learned a little bit more about FEMEN- this Ukraine based feminist group (with a branch in France,) I’m thinking they will bare their breasts for just about anything they are having a tantrum about. And even amongst women in their own countries, they are not exactly a mainstream activist group. They call […]
My response to Huffington Post religion blogger, Amitai Etzioni.
Since when are non-Muslims the scholarly experts on Islam? A scholarly person who sincerely studies and truly understands Islam … becomes Muslim. I implore all seekers of truth to scrutinize what you read. Packaging doesn’t matter. It’s the content that counts. (Special thanks to Justin Parrott and Angie Emara for your inspirations, as always.) You […]